Former N.J. Army soldier admits to role in Iraq bribery scheme

NEWARK — A former Army soldier and Purple Heart recipient faces 35 years in prison after admitting to his lynchpin role in a bribery and kickback scheme that reaped at least $3.7 million from the U.S. government’s reconstruction efforts in war-torn Iraq.

John Alfy Salama Markus, formerly of Belle Mead and now of Nazareth, Pa., pleaded guilty Friday in federal court in Newark to single counts of wire fraud and money laundering.

Answering "yes" to a series of questions from Assistant U.S. Attorney Sandra Moser, the 40-year-old Markus admitted to illegally profiting from confidential pricing details about potential projects during a three-year stint with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers that concluded in 2008.

Moser, who has prosecuted the case since it began three years ago, alleged Markus used that insider knowledge to solicit kickbacks from companies that secured $50 million in construction contracts, many for security enhancements at Iraq’s largest oil refinery in Bayji, just north of Baghdad.

Marcus, an Egyptian-born U.S. citizen also known as John Salama, kept detailed spreadsheets that he emailed to contractors, taking care to note the percentage of the contract due him.

The original indictment, handed up in July 2011, alleged Markus’ scheme involved conspiring with Onisem Gomez, a U.S. citizen living in Panama who worked with the Army Corps as a project engineer in northern Iraq; Ammar Al-Jobory, an Iraqi citizen who was employed under a corps contract as a deputy resident engineer; and Mithaq Al-Fahal, an Iraqi citizen who was a project manager at Sakar Al-Fahal, one of the foreign companies Markus allegedly helped to obtain the contracts. A criminal complaint in October 2010 also named Ahmed Nouri, a British citizen residing in Greece and Iraq who worked for Iraqi Consultants & Construction Bureau, another company that allegedly benefited from the scheme.

According to the indictment Markus sent e-mail after e-mail to co-conspirators making his fraud clear. One e-mail quoted in the 79-page indictment reads:

"Mithaq(,) Attached is your price and my price is $40,000[.] I’ll take half when you sign the contract and the other half when you sign the first invoice. John Salama"

The scheme ultimately allowed him to build a $1.1 million home in Nazareth, not far from Easton, authorities have said.

In addition to wire fraud and money laundering, Markus also pleaded guilty Friday to one count of willful failure to disclose foreign bank accounts. He used those to receive and transfer cash to at least 11 bank accounts in New Jersey and Pennsylvania, authorities said.

The wire fraud count carries a maximum prison term of 20 years; the money laundering count, 10 years; and the willful failure, five years. He is scheduled to be sentenced Jan. 8.

Under the terms of his plea deal, Markus will forfeit his Nazareth home as well as several cars and motorcycles.

His lawyer, Michael Rogers, has said Markus joined the Army after the 9/11 attacks and was wounded in fighting. Rogers did not return calls seeking comment Friday.

Deployed in Tikrit, Iraq, with the Army Corps, Markus had a hand in the review and award process for contractors. He was also involved in the administration, oversight and modification of contracts.

According to Moser, Markus conspired with the four other defendants to profit from the rebuilding of Iraq’s infrastructure. The four remain at large, according to U.S. Attorney for New Jersey Paul Fishman’s office.

U.S. District Court Judge Jose Linares did not change Markus’ bail conditions, and he remains free on $500,000 bail, but must wear an electronic bracelet that monitors his movements.